Suction cleaner



Feb. 2, 1926. 1,571,576

J. B KIRBY y SUCTION CLEANER Filed Jan. 24. 1921 Patented Fas. 2, 1926.

STATES :ma B. maar, or CLEVELAND, omo.

ysm'rrmn CLEANER.

application nien January 24, 1921. sum1 no. 439,386.

' To @ZZ whom it may concern."

Be it lmown that I,'JAMEs B. KI'RBY, a citizen oi the United States, residing at Cleveland in the county of Cuyahoga and State of OhO, have invented a certain new and useiul Improvement in Suction Cleaners, ci which the following lis a full, clear,

'and enact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to suction cleaners ot the self-contained portable type, comprising a collecting' nozzle, fan chamber, and electric motor built together in a compact unitar structureadapted to be moved around a o or so that the nozzle may be presented to all parts thereof. The objects of this'invention are the provision of an electric suction cleaner having simplified and' improved brush operating mechanism; thev' provision of a suction cleaner brush which 4shall require a minimum of power and shall inflict a. minimum ofinjury on floor coverings while possessing very great sweeping ualities: 'the provision of a suction .cleaner W anni h which shall be regulated in height- 'automatically accordin to the .work performed gfthe provision o a brush drive which shall .be llastin while further objects and advantages of t is invention will become apparent as the description proceeds;

In the drawings accompanyin and form,.-`

ing a part of thls a` plication I ave shown one embodiment' o my said -invention a1- though without intent to` limit myself to the exact constructions therein delineated which are capable of great variation within the scope of my inventive idea. In these drawings Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of I my iin roved cleaner, parts of the casing being broken away; Fig. 2 is a central vertical sectional` view through the same cleaner, the motor-being shown in elevation; and Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of Vthe same cleaner. Describing a hollow cylindrical fan chamber having at i by \reference characters thev Vparte shown in these drawings, 1 represents the"`longest dimension is transverse lto the axis of the motor housing. The cleaner is maintained in working position by 4two i small rollers 8, located inside the inlet mouth and s acing the same above the floor, in combinatlon with two carr ing wheels 9, 9, located at opposite sides o the cleaner and behind its center of gravity. In these .views I have shown these wheels as carried by a yoke 1() 'fastened tothe bottom of the motor. housing, which also forms a convenient point of attachment for the fork 11 to which the handle 12 isA secured. The

fan chamber is formed at one side with the outlet neck 13 for the reception of the usual dust bag (not shown).

The motorshaft is illustrated at 15, and

carries at its upper end the fan 16v and at its lower end the spiral gear (or worm) 17 wwhich meshes with a second gear 18 on the horizontal shaft 19.. Secured to the outer end of this last shaft .is the driving .wheel for the brush, here shown as a belt pulley 20, which is brought suiiiciently low to be belted directly to the brush by a straight lim belt 21. Also this arrangementv bringsall the gearing into a single gearbox 'located at the lowest part of the device, where it can easily be kept supplied with lubricant, and thus being beneath the commutator brushes (whose cover screws are shown at 22) there is no diiliculty from oil onthe commutator.

While other brushes could be employed in connection with the partsvheretofore described and while the brush now to be described can be used in different relations, the brush which I prefer to employ is made and suplorted as follows:

Imme 'ately above the inlet mouth the nozzle is formed with a brush chamber 25, and in it is movably mounted a supporting device or frame in which the brush 1s journaled, the brush being so connected .to the motor as to iloat freely upon the working surface and sweep the same with a substantiallv uniform pressure unaliected'by the This device or frame clips'27 and having metal disks 29 secured to their ends formed with slots 30 for the reception of the pins'32` with which the ends of the brush shaft '31 are provided. In the a driven wheel, which here takes the form.-

of a pulley 33 which is connected to the pulley 21 by a fiexible. driving connection, here represented by the belt 21, and the latter preferably being of an elastic nature, such as rubber, its action is to' hold the brush in place.

When such a brush lies idly u on the Hoor orcarpet its weight is supporte at least in part, by the bristles at the bottom on which it rests,and these bristles, being generally of a flexible nature, aresomewhat bent by the load. -As soon as the brush is rotated by the motor it rises slightly in the nozzle owing to the fact that it is now supported byy all the bristles and it rises still further as a consequence ofthe carpet being pulled into the inlet mouth by the suction. As a' result there is no scouring or scrubbing action such as to wear the carpet but only a gentle icking of the surface which dislodges lint. and like litter without injury to the floor covering or overloading of the motor.

Owing to the high speed of the motor the peripheral speed of the brush is so to render its floating action substantially independent of the direction ofmovement of the cleaner over the carpet. When a belt I driveis used the direction of rotation ofthe brush preferably depends to some degree upon the 'location of the frame ivots. With the arrangement here shown, t e pivots being on the opposite side of the mouth from the driving pulley the best results arev obtained when the power run of the belt is lowermost since any impediment offered to the rotation of the brush increases the strain Ion .the belt and creates 'a tendency to bring the rim of the pulley into linev with the frame pivot. It is advantageousto use a straight run belt because its llfe is longer.

-The belt is preferabl enclosed in a housing 36 which surroun the pulley 20` and prevents `leakage of air into the suction nozzle. This housing passes beneath the yoke 10 and inside the carrying wheels and the wheels are located inside the limits of v the cleaner mouth.

Bti

I do not restrict myself to any details of construction or arrangement except as recited in the annexed claims which I desire broadly construed for my beneficial protection.

eat asl mouth, a brush jecting from the other end of said fan chamber, a drive shaft journaled in the othery end of said housing parallel to said brush, a pulley carried by said shaft, a belt connecting said pulleysv and passing bysaid fan chamber, a fan in said fan chamber, and a motor in said housing having one end of its shaft attached to said fan and the other end geared to said drive shaft.

2. In a cleaner for floors and floor coverings, the combination with a collecting;

nozzle, means 'for moving the same to an fro over .the iioor, and .a rotary brush located therein, of means for rotating'said brush continuously 1n one direction regardless of the direction of movement of saidA nozzle over the floor and for automatically 4raising said brush relatively to said nozzle by an amount proportional to the resistance to rotation encountered by Said brush.

. 3. In a suction cleaner, a casing comprising a nozzle having an inlet mouth, a brush journaled in said nozzle, a beltpulley carried by said brush, a second pulley at one.

side of said first pulley, ,a belt connecting said pulleys, a framein which said brush is journaled, said frame being pivoted to the cleaner casing-at a point to one side of theinlet mouth, an electric motor, and driving connections between said motor and said' second pulley.

4. In a suction cleaner, Va casin having an electric motor, a fan, and an i et mouth facing the floor, a brush sup ort pivoted to said casing u on a horizonta axis andhaving journale bearings located inside said z'ournaled-in said bearings to rise and fal y with the pressure of the carpet thereagainst, a substantially horizontal driving therewith in accordance shaft located between the horizontal planes a-ring operashaft and tween said positions of said -nozzle formed with van inlet mouth, wheels on said casing supporting said nozzle with saidv mouth at a fixed distance above the surface on which it rests, an electric motor7 a pulley located at. one side of said mouth and operatively connected -to said motor, a frame pivoted to said casing u on an a proximately horizontal axis an vertical y lao movable independently of said nozzle, a

rotatable brush inside said mouth, said brush being journaledinsaid frame so as to rise and fall therewith, a pulley carried by said brush, and a. beltconneetingsaid axis being located in approximately the same horizontal plane;

6. In a suction cleaner, a casinghaving pulleys, said first pulley, brush, and pivot l a nozzle formed with an inlet mouth, a supporting device pivoted to said casing at one side of said mouth and movable freely independently of said nozzle, a rotatable brush in said mouth, said brush being journaled to said supporting device so as to be movable verticallyl independent bf said nozzle, a motorz means driven by said motor for producing s'uction in said mouth, and operative connections between said motor and said brush for rotating said brush continuouslyduring the operation of 'said motor while leaving said supporting device free to rise and fall whereby said brush may bear with uniform pressure upon the surface being cleaned.

7. In a suction-l cleaner, a motor, a fan driven thereby, a collecting nozzle -communicating with the intake of the fan, a rotary brush inside said nozzle, a pulley connected to said brush, a" bearing device comprising a substantially horizontal arm freely pivoted upon a horizontal axis, said brush being journaled to the free end of said arm, a driving pulley in line with said brush pulley,.operative connections between the driving pulley and motor, and a belt connecting said pulleys, the free end of said arm being movable independently of said nozzle.

8. In an electric carpet sweeper, the combination of a casing having a fan chamber and a nozzle communicating with the intake of said fan chamber, a suction fan in vsaid chamber, a rotatable brush in said nozzle, an electric motor operatively connected to said fan and brush, and means retaining the said brush in said nozzle while permitting its free'movement relative most part of said casinga frame movable vertically-'inside said nozzle, a rotatable brush in said nozzle journaled to said frame, and an electric motor operatively connected to said brush adapted always to revolve the same in one direction, said frame being mounted for free vertical movement relative to said nozzle whereby said brush may yield vertically in `proportion to the displacement of the surface being cleaned from the plane defined by the wheels.

10. In a device for cleaning floors and floor` coverings, in combination, a casing having at one margin a downwardly facing inlet mouth, a vertically movable fra-me pivoted to said casing, a horizontal rotatable brush located in said mouth and journaled to said frame, a suction fan carried by said casing, an electric motor connected to said fan, and operative connections between said motor and brush adapted to drive said brush continuously in one direction, said last named' connections extending from said brush at such an angle as to permit said brush to rise and fall freely and thereby bear upon the surface being cleaned rwith a substantially uniform pressure.

In testimony whereof,'I hereunto aiiix my signature.

. JAMES yB.. KIRBY. 

